Choppington War Memorial rededicated after restoration

The re-dedication of the War memorial on Choppington village green, Northumberland

Share

Get daily updates directly to your inbox

Thank you for subscribing!

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email

A war memorial which has been lovingly restored having suffered a partial collapse has been rededicated.

The memorial, at Choppington, in Northumberland had fallen into a state of disrepair, something which left local people greatly upset.

But now it has been restored to how it looked when built 90 years ago, and rededicated at a special service.

The stone structure was built at Choppington’s Memorial Hall, which was demolished in 1925.

The re-dedication of the War memorial on Choppington village green, Northumberland

It incorporated a bronze plaque which was previously in situ at the hall, bearing the names of 82 local men who had perished in the First World War.

The memorial was moved to its present site at West Green in the 1950s.

By the late 1980s, concerns began to be voiced about the condition it had been allowed to fall into, with the memorial’s stonework not waterproof.

In 2012, with responsibility for its maintenance having transferred from the now defunct Wansbeck District Council to Northumberland County Council, the memorial suffered a partial collapse.

Amid public concern at the condition the monument had been allowed to fall into, Choppington Parish Council offered to take responsibility for it - and other war memorials in its boundaries - and to lead its restoration.

The re-dedication of the War memorial on Choppington village green, Northumberland

The parish raised £27,000 to allow the Choppington memorial to be restored.

Money came from the parish and county councils, the community and donations.

Rothbury stonemason David Sutton was appointed and took the monument apart stone by stone, recording each one.

Stone from Blagdon surface mine was used, representing the area’s mining heritage, to rebuild the structure exactly as it was. Some of the surviving original stone was retained at its core.

Experts said the original bronze plaque was too delicate to be reinstated so a version made from resin impregnated with bronze powder was added instead.

The re-dedication of the War memorial on Choppington village green, Northumberland

The 82 names were added to it along with those of locals who died in the Second World War and a dispute in Cyprus.

However the original has been retained and will be brought out on Remembrance Day each year and at 25 yearly celebrations.

The memorial was rededicated on Friday by the Archdeacon of Northumberland, the Venerable Geoffrey Miller, at a service led by local vicar Rev Terry Moat.

In attendance were military personnel, Army cadets, the Royal British Legion and children from Choppington Primary School, who staged a tea party afterwards.

The re-dedication of the War memorial on Choppington village green, Northumberland

Parish clerk David Nicholson said: “There is not a single project that has given us more joy than this.

“There is not a single project that has brought the community together as much as this.

“I think we are all very very proud that we have been able get the memorial rededicated.”

Mr Nicholson said the number of people from Choppington who died in the Great War was remarkable given that it was a small mining village.

“It must have had a devastating effect on the people. When you look at numbers like that it was a lost generation.

“We forget the lessons of the past at our peril. The point of remembrance is to remember those who sacrificed their lives for us but it is also so we do not forget.”